More than 9000 mourners have shown their support for Israel at a vigil in Sydney after the horrific Hamas attack.
More than 9,000 Australians have thrown their support around the Jewish community at a vigil in the state of New South Wales (NSW) following the weekend’s shock attack on Israel by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Local Dover Heights woman Cindy S, who attended the event with her daughter and cousin Danny S, said she wanted her daughter to know her local community supported her family and the Jewish community at large.
“We stand by Israel. We cannot stand by and have our people murdered and treated this way. It’s barbaric,” Cindy said.
“We are here in solidarity as the whole world should be doing.”
Danny said the vigil was a “place of love and it makes me proud to be a Jew”.
“There will be tears but there will be tears not only for sorrow, but for our proudness of who we are.”
Bondi woman Galit Gershowitz, whose 20-year-old son was currently serving as a sniper in the elite combat unit within the Israeli army, said she felt a sense of community attending the vigil.
“It’s showing us as a family that we’re not alone,” she said.
“My son didn’t go to fight, he went to protect our country. We just want peace.
She said she felt “scared and anxious” for her son’s welfare but was proud of this contribution.
Couple Danielle Chaanger and Gioel Gottlieb, both of whom are Jewish, said they had been “devastate and crushed” at the Hamas attack.
“This morning I went to my doctor and my doctor’s wife sister had been shot. She barricaded herself in the house, but they kidnapped her neighbours and killed her baby,” he said.
He said he was at the vigil in a show of support for Israel.
“We are not here to protest. We’re here to show that we are very different. We’re here to unite ourselves because we love each other,” he said.Jewish leaders say community is shattered
Speaking to the crowd, Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s president Jillian Segal also spoke about the barbarism of the attack.
“Not since the Holocaust have so many Jewish lives been taken in a single day,” she said.
“We are totally shattered as we stand together this evening, mourning for the hundreds of lives lost and praying for the safe release of the hostages.
